1/72 KI-51 Sonia

[phantom II]

Although I claim to be a very patient person when doing something , I confess that waiting on thing to happen are not my strong point, so I started working on this to keep busy
It had been screaming at me for years now . Well, no more !

In case some of you don't know, the KI-51 was an Army light attack and recon bird. It served in China , WW II and Kamikaze attacks toward the end of the war. It ploded was not retired until 1953.
On the day Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb, two Ki-51s scored the last Japanese sinking of a US warship, sinking USS Bullhead (SS-332) with all hands.

The original molds were made by Manya who in turn was bought by Hasegawa . This particular kit was boxed by Hasegawa and I can't tell any difference what's so ever in the quality of the original , although that was a double kit

The kit is beautiful right out of the box .

More tomorrow . Cheers, Christian B)

 

[lupanzer]

...very nice Chris...following

Regards!

Luiz.

 

[razordws]

Got this one in the stash so I'll be watching!

 

[moon puppy]

 

[Old Dog]

 

[phantom II]

Thank you gents for your interest in this unloved airplane .

I believe Hasegawa has solved their problem by ( now ) boxing them up with more popular KI-48 bomber but frankly, it has raised the price considerably :S

The kit was dry fitted together . Everything fits so perfectly, it is a dream .

Also, the plastic is so much nicer to work with

Not that much to the interior but enough . I sprayed it a new Vallejo primer which approximates Mitsubishi interior green .

Picked out some interior details. Painted some gages and installed some decals.

Including the camera which will be visible through the lower window.

Made some seat cushions and added a strap belt for the pilot . Still need a belt for the back seat.

Amazingly, everything still fits ( amazing ) :cheer:

Time to close it up

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[Iron Mike]

:yipee

Glad someone is making progress!

 

[phantom II]

Got this one in the stash so I'll be watching!

As long as it is a 1/72 kit, you'll like it Dave . I've never seen the 1/48 version , so I can't say.

Cheers B)

 

[phantom II]

:yipee

Glad someone is making progress!

Thanks Mike Not all of us should be made to suffer at the same time :laugh:

Cheers B)

 

[phantom II]

Fairly basic engine but frankly not much will be seen . The cowl and the spinner will hide most of the details anyway.

Just a bit of shading and some ignition wires .

The engine was not installed as per instructions but carefully shimmed to the cowl. It sit's too far back if you install it as it is designed.

The depth of the spinner is too short , so a .040 shim was punched out and glued to the back .

The piece for the Huck started was sliced off and replaced by a piece of tubing .

Also seen in the picture is the exhaust . Hollowed out the pipes and scribed the contour out of the cowling . That was easier than replacing it with metal tubing.

Finally , after the modifications to the prop I needed to come up with a suitable diameter shaft :facepalm . Could not find anything in my spare parts as the size seems to be metric

After running out of options I discovered that the diameter of the Tamiya cotton buds were just right .

So here, you have it.

Cheers, Christian

 

[sharkman]

Awesome Christian!

Love it! I've never seen anyone build one of these before! This should be good!

I've got the Nichimo kit in the stash!

 

[phantom II]

Awesome Christian!

Love it! I've never seen anyone build one of these before! This should be good!

I've got the Nichimo kit in the stash!

The only Nichimo Sonia I have seen is on ARC and it's probably no better .

Cheers B)

 

[lupanzer]

Great start! ... :coolio

Luiz.

 

[phantom II]

The wings were cut out. MV. lenses were added, then the clear covers were formed and installed.

The bird was colored in factory color
I do not recommend gluing the pitot at this point, I have already broken it once.

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[moon puppy]

Sweet!

 

[Iron Mike]

Cool! B)

 

[phantom II]

Mitsubishi factory color on and coat of Future cured .

Maybe more tomorrow

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[lupanzer]

Perfect Chris...the lenses rocks!

Luiz

 

[razordws]

You're moving quickly!

 

[phantom II]

You're moving quickly!

It's an easy kit Dave and it's good

Cheers, Christian B)